We've been trying to decide whether or not we're watching a PD in progress.

Our office recently hired a lot of people for the same position. This is for the state, so there's a certain level of visibility. Basically we're aides. We run around all over the cities, making sure clients get to meetings on time and writing up reports on what happened. While the main focus is the meetings, in our job description it actually says that we do "whatever is needed" as necessary. During the time I was in training and waiting for my clearance, it quickly became clear that having something to do was better than sitting around... and if you didn't find something, a supervisor might find something for you.

One of the new aides has apparently decided that she doesn't care for doing any of the extra stuff. When asked by the section secretary to make folders for new cases, New Aide said she didn't do 'paperwork.' New Aide also went to the transportation manager and told her that the condition of the state cars wasn't good enough. New Aide also managed to get on the wrong side of the front receptionist - the person who calls for help (knock on wood) and makes sure we have rooms for meetings. One of my co-workers who was fortunate enough to be shadowed by New Aide actually said out loud, "How do you hire someone for this job who has no people skills?"

Now, New Aide does seem to be able to work with some of the more difficult people we come across so I will give her kudos for that. But honestly, you can't just go around ticking off all of the support staff! These are the people who can make or break your professional life!

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We are all wanderers on this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams.

My dad had the opposite experience with his PhD. When my mom was sick the doctors would explain in lay men's terms what was wrong. My dad then started asking some rather specific scientific questions that made the doctor's sit back and ask "What exactly is your background?" He has a PhD in chemistry but when the doctors tried to call him Dr. he insisted against it just because he never uses the term and it would cause confusion.

As for growing PD...I am on the edge of one of my area's specialized food communities (it's a small community, so I'm keeping this vague). Some people who actually work in it have started talking about how unprofessional one of the bigger local producers has been. This includes sending known spoiled food to an event, telling shops that they are out of a special item when sending it to a competitor a week later, and just not showing up to things. They have a few good products, and are a respectable size around here, but competition is growing and they cannot afford to anger the very people selling their product.

(Reposted from the customer requests thread because it fits much better here.)

My husband's in charge of workflow for his small company "BasketsUSA." They got a request for a quote on development of set of five "gift baskets" with a promise that if they did really well, there would be 200 more baskets (representing weeks of work and lots of money) where that came from. Husband was very excited to fulfill this particular request, so he opened up the gift basket requests only to notice that they had had some IDENTICAL requests just the week before. Right on down to the sets of 5 bananas in one type and gingham ribbon on another.

So he asks the owner of the company, "Aren't we making baskets just like these already?""No, we outsourced those to our basket weavers in Bangladesh for weaving before we fill them. I'll get in touch with BasketWeev and see what's up, but it looks like they're outsourcing our products to the guy who contacted you, and that's specifically forbidden in their contract."

Boss was STEAMED. Their clients' basket concepts are proprietary ideas and they can't be broadcast around the world. The quote request was a bad form letter, so it looked like the job/files had been sent to more than one place. BasketsUSA just got lucky that it was a recipient.

The next day, Husband comes in, and it's been resolved. Turns out one of BasketWeev's employees was overwhelmed by his workload and decided to see if he could outsource it on his own time and pretend to do the work. He apparently had no idea that the whole reason the work was outsourced to Bangladesh in the first place wad because it was vastly cheaper, and by paying out of pocket for BasketsUSA baskets, he'd be spending more than he earned. Lots and lots more -- he was promptly fired.

BasketWeev is lucky they had a fall guy, or they would have completely lost their biggest client!

VorGuy is a teacher - I get "delegated" to do a lot of shopping for him - like picking up food for 27 people for lunch during a summer training event for returning students (who will be training the new students when school starts in the fall).

I order food for 27 people, hand over the "tax-free" letter - only to find out that they don't know how to "do" that on the cash register, so they "discount" it by the amount of the tax. Which means VorGuy will not get reimbursed for the total paid, but the total minus the sales tax that is still showing ($3 here and $3 there adds up over eight days of training when it comes out of the teacher's pocket & has to have paperwork filed for reimbursement).

Then they start serving food and end up five servings short........VorGuy has to take the receipt & run back to the chicken place to get MORE servings - extending lunch by twenty extra minutes (travel time, sorting out time, and eating time after he gets back with the extra chicken).

Which is why I will be going to a different Popeye's chicken for next Tuesday's lunches......there are three in short range driving distance. I hope to find one that can COUNT the pieces of chicken to make sure that all 54 pieces are there in a 27 serving order AND can handle ringing up a tax free order correctly.

I will be going back to that store - but not for any orders larger than TWO Tuesday specials - because I know that they haven't messed up any of the orders on days when that was ALL I was ordering....

This is the ONLY place that hasn't had a "tax free" button or something else set up to click to stop the sales tax from being added - out of quite a few that I've either set up for the students to eat THERE during a field trip, picked up food for take out for this kind of summer school, ordered catering for an awards banquet, or picked up ten pizzas for a "party". I've been "put in charge" of arranging for food for about seven years now. I've set up things at McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, two or three pizza buffet places, Olive Garden (catering for a banquet), a couple of BBQ places (catering for banquets), Kroger (deli for lunches, cakes for events & parties, misc. supplies for various events), Wal*Mart (misc. supplies), and at least one Chinese place (two banquets). ALL of them were able to handle the sales tax not being charged & printing up the sales receipt so that the monies spent could be properly set up for reimbursement for the full amount....just not this ONE location.

I used to work at a company that sold and installed phone systems. Originally, I was the biller in charge of service contracts. Then I moved into the payroll position, and the company hired someone to replace me.

New person did not like the filing system, and decided to revamp it. Now the managers in accounting encouraged us to make improvements and changes, so the supervisor said, Fine, go for it. Until 2 months later, when the controller was wondering why revenues had taken a steep hit, and found that none of the customers who were due had renewed their service contract. Why? They had never received renewal notices.

The new person felt that a good filing system is more important than actually making money, and a good filing system takes time.

Amid the kerfluffle, the HR mgr (who was constantly vying with the accounting mgrs) decides to save New Person, and makes New Person her brand new assistant (at more money, too). HR mgr lived to regret that decision: New Person calls in the day she starts her new position, and says, "I've taken another job elsewhere." HR mgr had sent No thanks letters to all other candidates, and she had to restart the process. (Hah!)

I often wonder what happened to New Person. Eventually her incredible luck had to run out.

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I have enough lithium in my medicine cabinet to power three cars across a sizeable desert. Which makes me officially...Three Cars Crazy

It's happened again. Another food server typed in an insulting name on a receipt. This time it's describing a kid as "needy" and with a curse word. The customer is a dad spending the meal with his kids on Father's Day at a place called Friendly's Sports Bar.

It's happened again. Another food server typed in an insulting name on a receipt. This time it's describing a kid as "needy" and with a curse word. The customer is a dad spending the meal with his kids on Father's Day at a place called Friendly's Sports Bar.

Yes, but it was actually an inside joke between the waitperson and the cook. Apparently, this happens a lot but the messages usually get deleted. The waitperson was commenting on all the accommodations that had been made for this father and his son. Some might say the father was a bit of a SS for asking the establishment to break its rules just for him on Father's Day (but then, the manager didn't have to agree to it). Anyway, it was stupid but I don't think it necessarily malicious.

It's happened again. Another food server typed in an insulting name on a receipt. This time it's describing a kid as "needy" and with a curse word. The customer is a dad spending the meal with his kids on Father's Day at a place called Friendly's Sports Bar.

Yes, but it was actually an inside joke between the waitperson and the cook. Apparently, this happens a lot but the messages usually get deleted. The waitperson was commenting on all the accommodations that had been made for this father and his son. Some might say the father was a bit of a SS for asking the establishment to break its rules just for him on Father's Day (but then, the manager didn't have to agree to it). Anyway, it was stupid but I don't think it necessarily malicious.

What does it being an inside joke have to do with anything? This sort of thing is unprofessional and not ok

It's happened again. Another food server typed in an insulting name on a receipt. This time it's describing a kid as "needy" and with a curse word. The customer is a dad spending the meal with his kids on Father's Day at a place called Friendly's Sports Bar.

Yes, but it was actually an inside joke between the waitperson and the cook. Apparently, this happens a lot but the messages usually get deleted. The waitperson was commenting on all the accommodations that had been made for this father and his son. Some might say the father was a bit of a SS for asking the establishment to break its rules just for him on Father's Day (but then, the manager didn't have to agree to it). Anyway, it was stupid but I don't think it necessarily malicious.

What does it being an inside joke have to do with anything? This sort of thing is unprofessional and not ok

Yes, it is, it was stupid and unprofessional. My point is that the waitperson wasn't picking on *that* particular kid. It was a long running joke. She should have remembered to delete it.

It's happened again. Another food server typed in an insulting name on a receipt. This time it's describing a kid as "needy" and with a curse word. The customer is a dad spending the meal with his kids on Father's Day at a place called Friendly's Sports Bar.

Yes, but it was actually an inside joke between the waitperson and the cook. Apparently, this happens a lot but the messages usually get deleted. The waitperson was commenting on all the accommodations that had been made for this father and his son. Some might say the father was a bit of a SS for asking the establishment to break its rules just for him on Father's Day (but then, the manager didn't have to agree to it). Anyway, it was stupid but I don't think it necessarily malicious.

I don't think the waitperson should have typed in the offending language. I agree the father was a SS. He took his way underaged child to an over 21 establishment after begging the manager to break the rules. I sure there were places open on Father's Day were he could have taken is preschooler. I think the manager should have said NO. My question is is the over 21 thing a corporate rule or a state rule for that location? In Texas TABC would have heads rolling, massive fines, and people fired over having a what 4 yo in an over 21 only establishment.